Land, people and governance: conflicts and resolutions in the South Pacific
Holzknecht, H.
Development Bulletin 60: 8-12
2002
Document Number: 233594
This paper first outlines Melanesian customary property rights and regimes and some of the changes within them. Using Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a Melanesian case study, four periods characterizing the development of official thinking about customary land are then identified, and land registration issues are discussed. It is concluded that PNG customary land tenure systems are efficient and productive within their own terms and continue to provide safety nets to PNG's custom-based societies and to ensure that everyone has access to land and other resources on which to maintain a reasonable living standard. They support the frameworks for leadership patterns and status acquisition, for customary intergroup cultural competitiveness and rivalries. Melanesian countries must become more aware that there are other ways to move forward than by the Western-style individualization of land title.